THE PRESIDENT: Thank you
all. (Applause.) Thank you all very much.
(Applause.) Thank you all.

AUDIENCE: USA! USA! USA!

THE PRESIDENT: I was told I was the only President of
the United States ever to live in
Alaska. (Applause.) And even though that was in
1974, I have incredibly fond memories of such a beautiful, beautiful
part of the world.

I want to thank you very much for you hospitality. And
I'm so honored that, on my way overseas, that you all would greet Laura
and me. I know -- I'm confident that you're as proud of her
as I am. A lot of people -- (applause.) People
all across America now know why I married her.
(Laughter.) A lot of them are still wondering why she
married me. (Applause.) But we're honored to be here.

And I'm honored to be in a place where people understand the need
for sacrifice and patriotism. There's no question that
Anchorage, Alaska, the Anchorage Bowl is full of people who have
dedicated themselves to serving our country. Not only those
who wear the uniform, but the family members of those who wear the
uniform. And I've come to Alaska to let you know that I'm
proud of our United States military; that when I sent you into action,
I knew you would not let this nation down. (Applause.)

And I want to tell all of you, those who wear the uniform, the
family members of those who wear the uniform, and those who support out
United States military in Alaska, that our cause is just, our cause is
noble and we will defeat the forces of terror. (Applause.)

I want to thank Doug Miller, and I want to thank General Schwartz
and Colonel Nickerson, and thank you all, as
well. (Applause.)

As you can see, I'm traveling in some pretty fancy company
today. I'm traveling with a man who has put together one of
the greatest coalitions of freedom in the history of mankind --
(applause) -- a man who has served our country with such incredible
distinction and class, a valuable member of my Cabinet, Colin
Powell. (Applause.)

And I appreciate -- I appreciate the congressional delegation from
Alaska, three really fine people, one of whom I traveled from
Washington today with, and that's, of course, Senator Frank
Murkowski. Thank you,
Frank. (Applause.) He, along with Senator Stevens
does a fabulous job in Washington, D.C., not only for Alaska, but for
the country -- (applause) -- are tireless advocates for the people of
Alaska. And so is Congressman Don Young. You've
done a good job by putting good people in Washington, D.C. (Applause.)

I don't know whether your Governor has admitted it or not, but he
went to Yale. (Laughter.) He probably slurs his
words so it sounds like "jail." (Laughter.) And
we were classmates. And it's probably not politically
correct to say it, but we were fraternity brothers. And I'm
glad to be here with my old friend, Tony
Knowles. (Applause.)

I also found another George W., the
Mayor. (Applause.) I want to thank all the state
and local officials who are here. I want to thank the
members of the Canadian Armed Forces who are
here. (Applause.) I want to tell you something,
we've got no better friends than Canada. (Applause.) They
stand with us in this incredibly important crusade to defend freedom,
this campaign to do what is right for our children and our
grandchildren.

I want to thank the band, The Top
Cover. (Applause.) I know we've got some members
of the Third Wing here today. (Applause.) As the
Colonel mentioned, the Third Wing of Elmendorf had a long and
distinguished history of providing top cover for
America. The F-15 Strike Eagle drivers and AWACS crews, and
-- (applause) -- I didn't know the AWACS crews were quite that
wild. (Applause.) I thought they were kind of a
sedentary bunch. (Laughter.) The radar operators --
(applause) -- have been providing the homeland defense for more than
half a century. And America is grateful. (Applause.)

And I want to thank you for your efforts for Operation Noble
Eagle. You've made a huge contribution to this -- to our
nation. And as the lead air expeditionary force wing, the
Third Wing's mission is critical to maintaining peace and security
around the world. You're good about getting people, the
right people to the right place on time.

The people of Elmendorf and Anchorage welcome home more than 500
members of the 90th Fighter Squadron -- (applause). I'm glad
you got back in time for
Christmas. (Applause.) And that's exactly where
I'm heading, over to South Korea, so if you've got somebody you want me
to say hello to -- (laughter) -- never mind. (Laughter.)

You know, I can't wait to take our message
overseas. We're going to Japan and South Korea and China,
where I'm going to continue to work with the leaders of those countries
in our mutual concerns, starting with fighting the war against terror;
making it clear that the resolve of this nation is steady and strong --
to be able to look these leaders in the eye and say, when it comes to
defending freedom, the United States of America will not
blink. (Applause.)

And I look forward to sharing with them my passionate belief in the
values that we hold dear here in America: Freedom -- freedom
to worship, freedom to speak, freedom to achieve your
dreams. And it's those very values that came under attack on
September the 11th. The good news is, our mighty military
was ready. (Applause.)

You know, when we were attacked, it seemed like the people in the
U.S. military took it personally. A reporter asked an Air
Force pilot, he said -- asked him if he had any direct connection to
any of the victims of September the 11th. And he said, you
know, I think we all do; they're all Americans. You see,
when you strike, one American, you strike all Americans. And
those terrorists are going to hear from us. (Applause.)

It's hard for me to figure out what was going through the minds of
those who planned and attacked America. They must have
thought we were soft --

MEMBER IN THE AUDIENCE: They were wrong!

THE PRESIDENT: Yes, they were. They thought
we were so materialistic that we didn't understand sacrifice and honor
and duty. They must have been watching some lousy
movies. (Laughter.) They didn't know that this
great nation would rise up in unison to send a clear message that we
will do whatever it takes to defend our freedoms; that this great
nation is resolved to find the killers, one by one, and bring them to
justice. (Applause.)

But this cause is more than just an individual. Oh, I
know sometimes the people on the airwaves like to say, well, someone is
-- bin Laden's hiding here and he's hiding there. But this
cause is much bigger than a single person. This is about
fighting terror wherever it hides. This is about defending
America and our friends and allies, defending values. The
world must understand that this nation won't rest until we have
destroyed terrorism, until we have denied the threat of global
terrorism.

I can't tell you how passionate I feel on the subject. I
look around and see your children and your
grandchildren. This is an opportunity to defend freedom for
them. This is a chance to say that your kids can grow up in
a secure and peaceful America. And if they work hard and get
a good education, they can realize their dreams in a peaceful
world. We long for peace, but we understand that the
terrorists must be brought to justice in order to achieve that
peace. (Applause.)

Thanks to our military, we're making good progress, and it hasn't
taken very long. If you think about it, we've been at this
for a little less than six months, and we're achieving our objectives.

First, I mentioned the coalition the Secretary of State's working
on. And we sent a clear message: Either you're with us or
you're against us. (Applause.) Either you stand for
freedom, or you stand with tyranny. And the good news is,
many, many, many nations have heard that message. And I'm
proud to report they stand squarely with the United States in the
defense of freedom. (Applause.)

And you all also may remember that early on, I said if you hide a
terrorist, if you feed a terrorist, if you provide comfort to a
terrorist, you're just as guilty as the
terrorist. (Applause.) The Taliban now knows what
we mean. They're gone. And, guess
what? People in Afghanistan don't miss them one
bit. (Applause.)

I am proud that our military has fulfilled our mission, our
military mission. But, in so doing, we liberated a
people. We freed women and children from the clutches of one
of the most barbaric regimes in the history of
mankind. (Applause.)

But there's more to do in Afghanistan. We're entering a
difficult phase of the first theater in the war against
terror. They've got a lot of caves over there, but they
can't hide long enough. See, we're patient, and we're
determined, and we're a steadfast nation. We're steady in
our resolve. And that's so important, because we're trying
to run down some people that, on the one hand, send youngsters to their
death, and they, themselves, try to hide in caves. But there
is no cave deep enough to hide from the long arm of justice of the
United States military. We're going to run them down, one by
one. (Applause.)

And it doesn't matter where they try to hide, there is no calendar,
there is no deadline. There is no if you don't do it by now,
we're just going to go home and take a
nap. (Laughter.) That's not the way it
works. Now that they have laid down the gauntlet, we're
going to pursue them. And we're going to get
'em. And when we do, the world will be a safer place.

But we've got a bigger task than that. One of the most
dangerous things that can happen to the future of our nation is that
these kind of terrorist organizations hook up with nations that develop
weapons of mass destruction. One of the worst things that
could possibly happen to freedom-loving people, whether it be the
United States or our friends or allies, is to allow nations that have
got a dark history and an ugly past to develop weapons of mass
destruction like nuclear weapons or chemical weapons, or biological
weapons which could, for example, be delivered by long-range missile,
to become a part of the terrorist network. And there are
such nations in the world.

Of course, we'd like for them to change their ways, and we'll
continue to pressure them to do so. We'd like for them to
conform to normal ways of treating their own people, plus their
neighborhood, plus the world. We expect there to be
transparency. People who have got something to hide make us
nervous, particularly those who have gassed their own citizens in the
past, for example.

And so we expect them -- and so do other freedom-loving countries
-- to change their behavior. But if they do not, the United
States will do what it takes to defend our freedom. Make no
mistake about it. (Applause.)

This is a grand and noble cause, and it's going to require a strong
and modern military. I sent a budget up to
Congress. The good news is, I don't have to worry about two
United States Senators and the member of the House of Representatives
from the state of Alaska. (Applause.)

The budget I submitted is the largest single increase in military
spending in a generation. (Applause.) If we're
going to fight for freedom, we have to pay the cost to fight for
freedom. And it's worth it. And I also believe that any
time we send our military into harm's way, they should have the best
equipment, the best training, the best possible support. A
grateful nation owes it to the United States military.
(Applause.) And one other thing, you need another pay
raise. (Applause.)

You hear a lot of talk about homeland security. And I
want to assure you all, the moms and dads and everybody else here, that
we are doing everything in our power to secure the
homeland. I mean, we're chasing down every lead, every hint,
every possible cell member. We're giving them a chance to
share with us what they may or may not know. I mean, we are
absolutely defending this nation.

I can make no guarantees; I do know the enemy wants to hit us
again. But every day, my administration discusses how best to make
America a more difficult target. Every day, the FBI Director
talks about how he has changed the culture of the FBI. We've
got thousands of FBI agents working to protect the American
people. We're making our borders more secure. We've now got
a bioterrorism initiative we're starting. We're doing a lot,
and I'm proud of the efforts of people who are working overtime,
constantly working to make the homeland secure.

But the American people must understand, the best way to secure the
homeland is to unleash the United States military. And
that's exactly what we're going to
do. (Applause.) Oh, I know there's been a lot of
focus overseas, but I'm also concerned about this -- any time anybody
can't find work in America, I'm worried about it. I'm
worried about the fact that the enemy, when they attacked us, hurt our
economy. I'm worried about the fact that we need to have a
stimulus program that will help people find work.

Listen, I'm more than willing to sign -- and will sign legislation
that provides people with an unemployment check. But people
want more than an unemployment check in America. They want a
steady paycheck. And Congress -- (applause) -- and Congress
must understand that. I want a stimulus package on my
desk. There's too much politics in Washington. We
need to be worried about those people who can't
work. (Applause.) We need to be worried about
those who can't find work, and understand the role of government is to
create an environment in which jobs are created.

And so one of the things we did up there -- or over there, or over
and down there -- (laughter) -- was we cut your taxes. We
did it at the right time. (Applause.) And we did
it at the right time. The best way to encourage economic
vitality and growth is to let people keep their own
money. (Applause.) When you spend your own money,
somebody's got to manufacture that which you're spending it
on. You see, more money in the private sector circulating
makes it more likely that our economy will grow.

And, incredibly enough, some want to take away part of those tax
cuts. They've been reading the wrong textbook. You don't
raise somebody's taxes in the middle of a recession. You
trust people with their own money. And, by the way, that
money isn't the government's money; it's the people's
money. (Applause.)

There are some other things we can do, and must do, in order to
create jobs. We've got to trade. I can't wait to
talk to the Chinese leadership about getting them to honor their
agreements for the American farmers and ranchers to be able to sell our
foodstuffs into China. I said all along, there's many, many
mouths in the world to be fed, and if I do my job by opening up
markets, U.S. farmers and ranchers are going to feed them. We're the
best in the world at growing crops and raising cows and hogs. And we
ought to be feeding the world. (Applause.)

And when we do, that will mean jobs for the American
people. But there's a way to create jobs for the American
people right here in Alaska, right here in this important
state. You know, I'm the first -- I think we're the first
administration in quite a while that has ever developed a national
energy plan.

See, I understand that we need a national energy plan. I
understand it's in the national interests, security interests of the
United States of America that we're less dependent on foreign sources
of energy. (Applause.) We'll all work hard to put measures
in place that encourage conservation. It makes a lot of
sense to do that. But, folks, we've got to find energy in
our own country. And a great place to start is right here in
the state of Alaska. (Applause.)

And a lot of people understand that not only is it in our national
security interests that we drill for oil and gas in Alaska, it's good
for jobs; it's good for working people; it's good for people to be able
to put money on the plate -- money on the table so they can feed their
families.

Listen, we need to be exploring for oil and gas in
ANWR. (Applause.) I've heard them all in
Washington. I've heard all the skeptics say, well, you can't
do that, it's going to ruin this or that. Listen, there's no
doubt in my mind, there's no doubt in your Governor's mind, there's no
doubt in the congressional delegation's mind, there's no doubt in the
minds of people who take a sound, scientific look at this that we can
do so without endangering the environment; that we can find energy for
America's people and, at the same time, preserve the beauty of
Alaska. (Applause.)

What we need is a common sense approach to energy --

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Inaudible.)

THE PRESIDENT: There you
are. (Laughter.) Let me tell you how proud I am
of America. I cannot tell you how fantastically I feel about
the people of this country. You see, not only have we shown
incredible resolve and strength; this is a nation that is full of
compassion and kindness. We are a decent
nation. The strength of our country is not the halls of
government. The strength of the country is the people.

And one of the ways -- one of the things that people say to me is
they say, what can I do -- what can I do to help in the war against
terror. Well, many of you are already answering that call here
today. But others aren't, others are wondering what they can
do to help.

As you probably figured out by now, I view this current conflict as
either us versus them, and evil versus good. And there's no
in between. (Applause.) There's no hedging. And
if you want to join the war against evil, do some good. If
you want to be a part of our nation's stand against those who murder
innocent people for the sake of murder, for those who believe in
tyranny, for those who hijack a noble religion -- if you want to take a
stand, love a neighbor like you'd like to be loved yourself.
(Applause.)

If you want to be a part of the war, walk across the street and say
to a shut-in elderly person, what can I do to help you? Or
mentor a child. Or get into your public schools here in
Anchorage. (Applause.) Or provide support for
people. Or go to your church or synagogue or mosque and walk
out with a program that says, I want to help somebody in
need. Feed the hungry. If you want to be a part
of the war against terror, remember that it's the gathering momentum of
millions and millions of acts of kindness that take place in America
that stands squarely in the face of evil.

The enemy hit us, and they made a huge mistake. Not only
will our nation seek justice, but out of the evil will come incredible
goodness. Out of the evil will become America more resolved not only
to defend freedom, more resolved to sacrifice, if necessary, to defend
the freedom, but America resolved to show the world our true strength,
which is the compassionate, decent heart of the American
people. (Applause.)

It is such an honor to be the President of the greatest nation on
the face of the Earth. Thank you for coming out to say hello
to Laura and me. And God bless. (Applause.)